Frank Hole

Frank Hole’s archaeological research has focused primarily on the Near East, from Iran to Syria where he has conducted numerous reconnaissance surveys and excavations, mostly concerning the early stages of agriculture and animal husbandry, and regional settlement history. In 1973 he traveled with a group of tribal nomads in Luristan, Iran on their annual spring migration. In Iran he also carried out several small excavations in Paleolithic caves and rockshelters in the Khorramabad Valley dating back as far a Neanderthal times. Most of his research was in Deh Luran and Khuzistan in western Iran. The Iranian research has been published in two monographs, one edited book and numerous articles.

After the Iranian Revolution he moved his research to northeastern Syria where he has carried out numerous archaeological surveys and excavation of the sites of Umm Qseir and Ziyadeh on the Khabur River. In addition, through NASA grants and teamwork through the Center for Earth Observation at Yale, he carried out a series of studies of land use and agricultural sustainability using satellite imagery. On a Fulbright Fellowship (2014-2017) he was visiting professor at Mazaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. He also held two study sessions at Yale for students from Mazaryk University.

An edited monograph on his excavations in Syria was published in 2016. Two co-edited books on his archaeological research in Oaxaca, Mexico, were published in 2019 and 2024. He is currently finishing a second co-edited monograph on his archaeological research in Syria.